Stanford
Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)

Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)

Point of Care Ultrasound

Point of Care Ultrasound

POCUS

What is Point of Care Ultrasound (POCUS)?


“POCUS is clinician-conducted bedside ultrasound for clinical and educational purposes and includes diagnostic and procedural exams varying complexity and risk.  It is performed and interpreted in real-time by the clinician caring for the patient.  It is recognized as a separate, distinct entity and may be a billable service.”

POCUS is: 

•Clinician-conducted bedside ultrasound (US) for clinical and educational purposes
 
•Includes cart-based and hand-held US equipment
 
•US-guided procedures of low to moderate complexity and risk
 
•Focused diagnostic evaluations of low to moderate complexity and risk.  Examples: Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (FAST) exam, limited echocardiogram, lung, and IVC
 
•A separate, distinct entity
 
•Real-time interpretation by the clinician caring for patient
 
•A billable service if medically indicated, completed by a privileged clinician, documented, and retrievable in the patient record

POCUS is not: 

•High-risk, high complexity US procedural or diagnostic exams conducted by individual with specialty training in US for another department
 
•Comprehensive diagnostic US studies (US level 4) conducted in Radiology, IR, Cardiology, OB/Gyn, Vascular Surgery
 
•US studies typically conducted by a sonographer/sonography technologist (ARDMS-certified)

 

Program Development

With POCUS use rapidly expanding as a new standard of care for procedural guidance and bedside diagnostics, the need for organizational oversight, consistent controls and standards, and operational support has been recognized.  As such, a POCUS Governance Committee has been established to create and monitor this infrastructure and ensure it maintains intact as growth continues.  Refer to the quality checklist and POCUS application for program details. 

Governance